NFU v Witton Albion (Evo Prem 18-19)

Ferriby play the first of three home games in eight days when Witton Albion visit The Chadwick Stadium on Saturday.

Witton have lost three of their four away league games with their win coming at Whitby. They have scored seven goals and conceded three in those four games. They are unbeaten at home with one win and three draws. scoring three goals and conceding one. They currently lie 15th in the table with nine points.

Last Saturday, Witton had an impressive 2-1 victory over Conference North side Spennymoor Town. Their cup form is more impressive than their league form as far as scoring is concerned so Ferriby will be hoping that Witton leave that form behind them.

In contrast, Ferriby have had a mixed start. Saturday’s home defeat to Scarborough was their fifth defeat in nine league games. The results do not necessarily tell the full story of Ferriby’s performances.

Six of the ten games have been against teams currently in the top seven in the league table. That has meant a tough start for The Villagers in what was always going to be a very competitive division. Most of the defeats have been narrow and with a bit of fortune, some of them could have resulted in a point or even all three.

Tuesday’s game at Gainsborough was a good example of this. Ferriby produced a good and solid all-round team performance but were undone by a sucker-punch on the stroke of half-time. A Ferriby attack broke down in Trinity’s area and the home side broke quickly and effectively to score the only goal of the game.

After the game, manager Chris Bolder commented,

“I think we found ourselves, once again, the right side of the performance and the wrong side of the result. We were very competitive again and on another day we could have gone away with something.

“Our response second-half was very positive. We took the game to them and they were on the back-foot for lot of the game. Tonight was good performance.”

There is no faulting the attitude and effort of the team. For those who have watched since the second-half of last season, or even for the dozen or so games this season, the improvement is apparent.

Bolder has his team playing attractive football and they are now creating more goal chances. Once they start to go in, results will improve. Fitness levels are higher and the tea, as a whole, are making fewer mistakes.

The players were somewhat dejected after the Gainsborough game, as Bolder commented

“The lads are sat in there dejected, but I’ve told them there is a difference in being dejected when you’ve played well and lost and being dejected when you know it’s been a bad performance. Tonight was a good performance.”

The fact that the result hurt the players is also a good sign. It shows their commitment and desire to do well and a degree of confidence in their ability to perform at this level.

As for this Saturday, Bolder comments,

“Witton Albion will once again be formidable opponents, especially with their recent result against higher league opposition in the cup and holding Gainsborough to a goalless draw in their last league outing.

“They have a mixed set of results in the league but, after watching numerous clips of them, they look a very good outfit and have players that can hurt any team.

“Like we have said before, there are no easy games in this division and teams have shown already that anyone can beat anyone.”

Team captain James Piercy adds his thoughts,

“It was another good performance from the lads against Gainsborough in midweek.However it was another game we again could have even won as we had a couple of very good chances.

“For me I thought our two wingers Danny Norton and Jordan Harrison provided a threat for

us all night and really looked dangerous for us in attack, so I expect them to again be a danger against Witton.

“We agreed a deal to bring back Luke Hinsley and it’s great to have him back. With him and James Nichols, we have two out-and-out strikers as we have been playing players out of position recently to accommodate, so hopefully Luke can get amongst the goals for us.”

The fixture schedule remains hectic but Ferriby really do need to capitalise on this short run of home games if they are to start climbing the table.

As Piercy states, The return of striker Luke Hinsley will increase Bolder’s attacking options and also add some experience to his strike-force.